5 active NBA head coaches with the worst winning percentage heading into the 2021-22 NBA season
It doesn't take much for an NBA coach to be labelled as 'subpar' unless there are other circumstances to be blamed for a team's underperformance. There are even instances where the head coach is seemingly used as a scapegoat so that the front office leadership escapes the blame.
For the aforementioned reasons and others, the turnover of head coaches in the modern NBA is significant. There were seven changes to head coaches that took place during the recent offseason. Rick Carlisle was the only one to receive the same position with a different organization, moving from the Dallas Mavericks to the Indiana Pacers.
Four head coaches are exempt from this listing: Ime Udoka, Wes Unseld Jr., Chris Finch and Willie Green. Udoka, Unseld and Green are all commencing their first seasons as the head of an NBA coaching staff. Meanwhile, Finch joined the Minnesota Timberwolves midseason last campaign, so it felt unfair to include his winning percentage from a sample size of 41 NBA games.
Apart from the aforementioned quartet, here are the five active head coaches with the worst winning percentages heading into the 2021-22 NBA season.
#5 James Borrego (42.2%)
Prior to being elected as the Charlotte Hornets' head coach in 2018, James Borrego had only spent 30 previous games as an NBA head coach. He filled in after a firing at the end of the Magic's 2014-15 NBA season. Borrego's time in Charlotte has not been stellar, but considering his roster, it's also not something that has him in the hot seat quite yet.
The Hornets participated in the play-in tournament last season with a very young roster. Four of Borrego's eight most active players were 22 or younger, while the 'veteran' talent included Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward.
The 2021-22 NBA season is sure to be a big one for Borrego and the Hornets. Expectations were low last season, but many expect a playoff appearance from them heading into the new campaign.
James Borrego's coaching ability is still in question, as not many seem comfortable labelling him one way or the other. It's difficult to imagine that would remain the case after his fourth season on the job, though.
#4 Luke Walton (41.0%)
Luke Walton's NBA coaching campaign contains a notably different context than Borrego's. He spent three seasons with the LA Lakers, but never managed to win more than 37 games during that period. LeBron James played 55 games for Walton in 2018-19, but the team still missed the playoffs - with LeBron James.
It may just be the natural growth of youth in the league. But Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance and Jordan Clarkson have all become substantially better players since moving away from Walton.
Following three tumultuous seasons with the Lakers, Walton made his way up north to join the Sacramento Kings and his old friend Vlade Divac. Divac was the general manager of the Kings at the time. He notoriously did not conduct an actual coaching search, but instead believed Walton was the man, and moved quickly to bring him in.
Dave Joeger won 47% of his games in 2018-19 as Sacramento's head coach. Walton has won exactly 43% of his games in the last two NBA seasons at the helm, despite continued growth from the roster.
It's not as if the Kings roster has been anything significant during his tenure. But Walton has given the NBA fraternity no indication that he can improve or optimize a roster. At least the players seem to like him, though, if that counts for something.